Thursday, January 8, 2015

The first week of the Do-Over has been productive. I've decided the basics for the new file. File naming, forms, storage and anything to do with basic research. Everything is neat and waiting for data. I have started renaming documents and photos already. I'm not really in a hurry as I can rename them as I work on the new file. My folder naming will remain the same system, as it has worked well for me in the past. I have used Folder Marker for a long time and colored my folders the same as I use in my RootsMagic to mark families. My files, documents and photos, are getting a new system. I didn't come up with it. Diane Ritchie showed her naming system in the Facebook group Genealogy Do-Over and I adopted it with minor changes. I'm happy with it.

I also watched Dear Myrtle's Beginning Genealogy Study Group.(YouTube link) I really enjoyed it. I will try to get to all of them. I had enjoyed Mondays With Myrt as well this week. You can see Mondays with Myrt on YouTube as well, or check the DearMyrtles's Genealogy Community on Google+. I don't really know how to link to that one.

I am feeling better but the Do-Over has me excited again about my research. I have needed that in a big way. I feel it has been a good start on week number one!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Finally it's a new year. I can say with absolute certainty that I am not sorry to see the old year gone. The past 2 years have been awful. Today, I welcome this new year with the hope that it will be a better year. I intend that it will be a more productive year. For the first time I have set my intentions in writing. Not resolutions. Intentions. I do not need to "resolve a problem". My "intent" is to have a better year. So I step into 2015 with purpose to have a great, productive year. My hope is for better health and strength.

I will start my year off in the morning with the Genealogy Do-Over. I'll be following along with Thomas, putting the right research habits in place as I go. I hope to learn a lot of new techniques. I've been at this for so long, over 30 years, but I didn't start online until 1999. I have a lot to work on in the citation area. I am unable to travel so I will be learning good ways to obtain records by mail, I hope.

I have been sitting and watching everyone rush around over this thing. I can not move so quickly so I have waited. I will be going at a slow pace. I want to do it right this time. I don't want to pile it on so big I run out of steam. I really have a final goal to reach. When you are told you are dying, a lot of stuff goes through your head. One of my thoughts was my work. Why had I worked so hard for so long on my family history? What was I to do with it? Well, I have figured that out. My goal is to have a clean and well documented file to leave online and to create books to leave a hard copy for those who come in the future. Tada! I have a plan and I get to live too. Good stuff there!

I have closed my big file (a little over 7000 individuals) for the last time. I will have a nice clean, empty file to start work on come morning. When I open my shiny new RootsMagic7 in the morning it will be the beginning of a new adventure. By the way, congrats to Bruce for the "Best Genealogy Product of 2014" (for RootsMagic7) by Tamura Jones. I will not argue about it as I am in total agreement!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

I've
been off for a long while. The passion I'd worked under no longer
drove me. I have had a great deal of trouble finding it again after
the bone marrow transplant. But, it is slowly returning. I'm
certainly not working as I once did, but that's ok. I will get
there.

One
thing I have had is lots of time to think as I try to recover and
worry over what I thought was a lost passion. I realized I had been
needing to define what that passion was. Often, in the community,
the argument is made about who is or is not a genealogist. I find
the argument time wasting, divisive and quite frankly, a little
elitist. One thing was clear to me, though. I wanted to find and
record my family history. That was my goal in the very beginning so
many years ago.

That
is finally settled, at least in my heart. I am a family historian. Now, I may under the title
of “family historian” refer to myself as a genealogist.
Merriam-Webster Online states that a genealogist is “a person who
traces or studies the descent of persons or families”. On the
other hand, I may refer to myself as the family historian. Again,
Merriam-Webster Online states that a historian is “1. a student or
writer of history; especially : one who produces a scholarly
synthesis”; 2. “a writer or compiler of a chronicle”. Family
is pretty self-explanatory, so I will let you define that one as you
see it. I'll just say I'm a genealogist when I am looking for
documents, dates, places and names, and call myself a family
historian when I am fleshing out the people and the era . I feel the
love and passion coming back.

I
feel so much better now that has been solved. Now, on to the next
problem. I hope it works out this well.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

I updated my RootsMagic from version 4 to 6. I haven't really had a chance, really haven't felt up to going over it all at once to see the differences. I have been putting my 4 files together into one big one. I had gotten 3 of them imported using RM4. As I imported each one I would do the merging so that it would be a smaller job than if I left them to do when all the files were together. I got RM6 right before doing the last file so I worked in it. I tried to get it to do a duplicate search merge, and a pop-up briefly says I have 120 possible duplicates and then an empty Merge Duplicate Records box comes up. I'm sure I've done something wrong. I saw somewhere that there are learning videos online, so I will have to find them. I did try the Search FamilySearch. Works even for dummies! Awesome feature!

I work on WikiTree as much as I can, though lately that is not much. I try to get a dozen or so individuals on and then go back and add sources, photos and notes to them. In the process I find mistakes and can make notes for each person of additional sources I need to find. It's really a great way of going over old material and correcting mistakes.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

I've been slowly putting my file on WikiTree. Not as a GEDCOM but one individual at a time. I can fill in the things I have but have not charted and recheck things as I go. My file and my WikiTree are being sync-ed up as I go. I love that I can add just about anything to my pages, and present the facts as I like. I find them easy on the eye and very easy to put together.

My grandmother, Bizzie Lee Beard Brock has a page that I will eventually add memories to under the bio area. My hope is that people that knew her will add their memories and information as well. Those that have her in their tree, but did not know her, will get a clear picture of who she was and be able to add sources to their file or her page. I can also add the name of the person who shared the information with me.